A Valentine's Fantasy
by Michael Mario
Summary: It's the day before Valentine's day, yet due to certain circumstances, Cloud doesn't have a date. Determined to try and negotiate the feelings he may have for our favorite Half-Esper, the Not-SOLDIER seeks the advice of the unorthodox pair of perverted Love Gurus... Also, Firion awaits a delivery, but gets a lot more than he bargained for. Picture from Clerra blog "Two Puppets".
1. The Love Gurus

**Neo Dissidia Special**

**A Valentine's Fantasy**

**Part 1: The Love Gurus**

* * *

**Well, it's February, and you know what that means! That's Right- African American History Month!**

**I'm kidding, of course (though that is technically true) - it means the now passed by Valentine's Day! Why would I celebrate it with a special this late in the month? 1: Because I only got the idea a couple days before that. 2. Because no one would expect it and I'd be safe from counters that would still be kindly (I've probably just jinxed myself). 3: I need practice in writing romance so I went with my all-time favorite pairing, the one that made me actually care about shipping: Cloud/Terra- or Terra/Cloud; whichever one is you think is on top. Valentine's Day provided the perfect opportunity to test that.**

**This isn't what I was implying when I said new stuff would be coming this month (and if I have any say in the matter- it **_**will**_**), so this was kind of spur of the moment; similar to this fic's prequel/spiritual successor **_**Happy Birthday, Terra!**_

**Special Thanks go to TheMoonclaw, who indirectly and unintentionally inspired me to continue working on this through a review response!**

**Edit: 3/1/2013: New details added to enhance the experience. **

**Edit 3/3/2013: One-shot spilt into two-shot to make it easier to read.**

**Now sit back and enjoy the show!**

* * *

Ah, Valentine's Day… a day of love and romance. A day of hearts-

_**"KINGDOM HEARTS!"**_an old bald man with amber eyes yelled out.

….Ignoring that. Most of all, Valentine's Day is a day of lovers; so for those who either don't have one or are absent, it is…

"It's just another day with an unnecessary label." A certain spiky blonde-haired not-SOLDIER groaned, annoyed by the abundance of Valentines decorations around the halls of the Goddess's Tower.

The Onion Knight was following him as they walked towards their next destination in mild curiosity nod, "Tell me about it." He murmured.

Cloud an eyebrow, turning his head to face him, "Why you?"

The child shook his head, "Are you kidding? All of the girly stuff and the cooties and that mushy stuff…"

Cloud rolled his eyes, feeling a rare small grin on his face, _'It's easy to forget he's still a kid at heart given how mature he acts most of the time.'_

Luneth took notice of this, "What, what is it?"

Cloud shook his head, "Nothing."

The red-headed Onion Knight bowed his head and sighed, "Right…" He turned his attention back towards the not-SOLDIER, "What about you?"

It was Cloud's turn to sigh, "Do you remember 'that' incident."

"What do me- oh…" Luneth looked down depressed, some tears welling up, "That…"

Cloud gave the kid a pat on the back, then looked at him straight in his emerald eyes, "It's okay…we all lost something that day."

"I know…especially Terra…"

Cloud closed his eyes. _'Like I said… we all lost something, but Terra didn't deserve what happened to her. I'll never forgive those two…'_ "Yeah… I had to officially break up with Teef after that- didn't want her to get hurt anymore." (#)

The Onion Knight nodded, "I remember that…" He gave the man a determined glare, "But she's managed to move on- you helped her do it! Isn't time you should do the same?"

Cloud kept silent at this, _'It should- you're right. But…'_

"How about someone else in our ranks? Like…" Luneth thought it over for a good minute before realizing, "There aren't many single picks in our ranks…"

Cloud counted them off, "Lightning…is like my sister. We're essentially the same. Gill: I don't know her well enough. Maria: ditto. Rydia: an option, but I think that Edge guy would kill me if I tried. Faris…is a cross-dresser. Prishe: too young (or maybe not- she _is_ immortal, but still). Shantotto: do I need to tell you the answer? Ashe is both royalty and engaged to someone from Terra's world via arranged marriage."

"That pretty much counts out every single woman among Cosmos's warriors; both old and new." The boy mused. He snapped his fingers, "What about Terra?"

Cloud stopped in his tracks. He turned back to Luneth, a blank expression on his face, "…Terra?"

"Terra. She's single, and could use someone else there for her after that same incident..."

Cloud shut his eyes, mulling that over in his head.

The boy took that silence as a cue to continue, "She really enjoyed that date awhile back. I don't think I've seen her that happy before since that prior to that day…"

"…I don't know."

Luneth furrowed his brow, but Cloud gave him a look signifying he didn't want to talk about, so decided to instead change the subject a bit, "Why don't you go see some kind of love guru? I heard about one not too far away from here."

Cloud didn't say anything, but did consider the suggestion…

* * *

'_Why the hell are you doing this, Cloud? Why the hell are you doing this?!'_

The meeting had ended (Cosmos was going to host a Valentine's Day dance of sorts) and Cloud once again faced the challenge of his most dreaded adversary: his '_feelings'_ (Oh Cosmos that's cheesy).

Not quite his forte. The fact that he lost one of the two women he had truly loved and almost saw his second killed, he wasn't very comfortable with officially courting a third. That is where this 'love doctor' comes in: to help him deal with those emotions and help him pursue his interests.

Cloud found his way to the place Luneth must have heard about. It was a quaint little lavender doctor's office, with a heart-shaped, pastel yellow sign depicting a blue male symbol on the left and a hot pink female symbol on the right. In between these two symbols were light green letters that read: _"M&Z Love Consultants"._

'_Why do I have a funny feeling about this?'_ Cloud thought to himself as he entered the building. Inside was a small waiting room that had a few chairs, a couch, and a magazine rack. Cloud went up to the front desk and saw that the receptionist was…

"Cait Sith?" Cloud asked a disbelieving look on his face.

Sure enough, the cat robot riding a big weird Moogle robot was right there, smiling at him. "Good to see you again, Cloud! I take it you're here for your appointment?"

Cloud just stared for a few seconds before registering what the animatronic cat said. Cloud raised an eyebrow, "I already have an appointment?"

Cait Sith laughed, "Why, of course! Your little friend Luneth made one for you just a few hours ago!"

'_That little sneak…'_ Cloud shook his head: he'd deal with his and Terra's charge later. What important now was getting this done, "Right… so do I just go in or..?"

"They're already waiting for you."

The not-SOLDIER nodded, "Understood. Thanks."

"No problem!" Cait Sith's Moogle-bot pointed to the door, which opened automatically afterwards. Cloud hesitated for a second; debating whether or not he should still go through with this since that weird feeling from earlier had returned in full force.

"Here goes nothing…" Cloud muttered to himself as he entered the doctors' office…

"_HI!"_

Cloud facepalmed as he saw who these 'love gurus' really were, "M&Z… Mew and Zidane- why did I not see this coming?"

The unorthodox duo (both parts of other, more significant duos) were sitting on reclining office chairs, both with matching grins of most likely mischief. Zidane kept smiling and responded, "Mm-hm! You guessed correct! You wanted love doctors-"

"_-And now you having two of the greatest masters of seduction! So…what romantic fancy has you in a knot this fine Valentine's Eve?" _

The older blonde clutched his temples, "You perverts had this planned from the beginning, didn't you? That's how and why Luneth knew about this…"

"_We can see your intimacy issues a mile away, pal! We just thought that it was time from for you to take a nice, tall glass of _stop being such a homo and come clean!_ Speaking of which…_" Mew motioned Cloud to a lounge chair in the back of the room.

Cloud sighed, turning away, "Screw this, I'm leaving. I don't have to take your cracks at my failures."

"Wait-!" Zidane reached out to pull the not-SOLDIER back, but was stopped by Mew's psychic powers holding him in place. The ex-thief could only watch as Cloud left the building.

He turned towards the pink cat/bunny/fetus/sperm thing and gave it an, "What the hell was that about!"

"It wouldn't have worked."

"Why are you suddenly going against this, it was your plan in the first place!"

Mew shrugged and waved it off,_ "I'm only doing this because Mike's close to those two and Luneth- I couldn't care less about their love-lives if you paid me…"_ Mew paused in thought for a second, before jovially adding, _"That, and Chocobo-head is fun to mess with!"_

The Genome crossed his arms, "Then what is the point of all this? Why did you drag me into it?"

Mew gave a knowing grin at him, _"Oh, we're not done here- he'll be back…"_

Zidane tilted his head in curiosity, "What makes you so sure?"

"Do you know what the other place providing this kind of service is?"

Cloud walked up to another building, this one looked more professional- being a brick-layered building with a simple plate reading, "HC Consultants".

The blonde walked into the office and was greeted with another pair of therapists.

"_HHHIIII!"_

Cloud's eyes twitched violently at the sight…

* * *

Cloud walked back to Zidane and Mew, a disturbed expression on his face.

Mew grinned, _"Welcome back."_

"Did you miss us?" Zidane teased; a more victorious smirk on his face than the pink Pokémon.

Cloud glared at them, "You're lucky that Hojo and Corneo are the only other consultants available…"

"Shall we get started?"

Cloud reluctantly nodded, still uncomfortable that he was going to listen to advice from two of the biggest perverts he knew, _'It could be worse. Zidane has morals and wouldn't stoop very low. Mew, though…"_ The older blonde shuddered, _'Who knows what he/she would recommend. At least it's Zidane it decided to partner with- and not Edgar if what Terra told me is true.'_

"_Hey, even I think he's disgusting. He's slept with every female in his kingdom!"_

Cloud turned to the pink furball, startled, "Did you just read my mind?"

"_Well, I am a psychic type, so duh. On that topic, he wasn't always that bad, but after Kefka was killed before the gathering, he took it upon himself to help 'repopulate the world'._

Cloud massaged his temples, trying to get rid of the images that brought to mind, "You're still worse than him, you know."

"_I know- I've also have an impressive list of conquest from the Pokémon in my world and the other genetically similar creatures in this world. For example, you know Terra's chocobo?"_

"Stop! I don't want to hear it!"

"Were you talking about me?" The two turned their heads to see Zidane starring at them confused.

'_Ah… Mew must have only been telepathically communicating to me- not both of us…'_

Mew brushed his concern off, _"Nah, we were talking about a different blonde pervert- don't worry…that said, you were pretty bad yourself before you met Garnet."_

This was only communicated to Zidane, who shrugged, "I know."

"Are we going to get started already?" Cloud asked, starting to get tired at this exchange.

"_Su_re!" the two sat down and Mew held out a clipboard and pen for its own use, _"To start, let's go over your _interesting_ history, shall we?"_ the blue-eye pink cat/bunny began.

"The short version- just give us a summary." Zidane added.

"Right…" Cloud sighed, ready to divulge memories both joyous and painful, "Well, the first crush I ever had was for Tifa…" Cloud smiled, "What I wanted out of everything else back then was her attention."

"I thought you were childhood friends?"

"Actually…no, we weren't- she hardly knew I was there until the day I left to join SOLDIER. Back on topic- when Teef was only 8 and I was 10, something… bad happened that I was blamed for by the whole town.

"Did they find out about your small penis size?"

Cloud and Mew gave Zidane offended looks.

Zidane shrugged, "Hey, with that sword, we all know you're overcompensating for _something_."

Cloud was about to retort, but Mew interjected, _"Actually, he isn't overcompensating for _that_."_ The New Species Pokémon gave the not-SOLDIER a knowing look, _"After all, his sword isn't the only _buster sword_ in his arsenal."_

Cloud and Zidane were disturbed by this. Cloud's eyes widened, "Wait a minute… are you saying you saw me naked?"

Mew snorted, _"I have both pictures AND footage of ALL of you in the buff!"_

Zidane flinched, "How-!"

"_I can go invisible at will and can hide anything else that would point me out- I can be __**anywhere**__ and you would never know."_

Cloud paled at the knowledge, but Zidane's eye lit up the realization. With a lecherous grin, he asked, "So you have footage of _all_ of us, right?"

"Mm-hm! It's mostly for blackmail, but I've gotten a little other something from it as well."

"Could you show the girls' to me?"

"ZIDANE!" Cloud roared fiercely at him, disgusted at both of them.

"What? I was just going to see if-"

"Don't you have a wife now?"

Zidane got right up to his ear and whispered, "Fiancé. I'm better than that now: I'm just going to burn Dagger's… I don't want that little freak to have influence over her."

"Can we get back on topic now?" Cloud asked, giving the thief an almost invisible nod of understanding that thankfully went unnoticed by the perverted pink legend.

"Sure, go ahead." Zidane gave the older blonde a thumbs up. Mew had watched the exchange in curiosity since he/she couldn't read Zidane's thoughts (he didn't put thought into it, so it was out of his/her reach).

"Right then…" Cloud picked up from where they had left off, "Tifa's mom died and she made herself believe that her mom wasn't, but waiting for her at Mt. Nibel-"

"_Question; was she born stupid or did that come along right then?"_

Cloud glared at the pink pest.

"_I mean, from that to hiding her suspicions about you not being you and almost dooming your entire world, it takes a special kind of-"_

Mew soon found itself knocked against the wall out cold by a punch from Cloud, with Zidane humming the Final Fantasy victory theme for him.

"Nice shot!" Zidane praised, "But can we get back to the story?"

"Right…" After giving the cat/bunny/sperm shaped Pokémon one more glare, he continued, "She climbed up the mountain and fell off rickety bridge. I tried to save her, but failed."

"That'll work; next subject."

"Right… did I already tell you about the promise I made to Tifa before I tried to join SOLDIER?"

"_No, but Tifa told me about that in her session over a month ago."_

Both Cloud AND Zidane did a doubletake at quickly turned their heads to see Mew wake back up, and he/she continued, _"She told me all about the Nibelheim incident the all the pretty details involved, so you can skip all of that."_

Cloud glare at him/her one more time, then let out a frustrated sigh of resignation, "Will do…." _'Nothing I do is going to shut that cat-bunny-thing up; just move on Cloud'_ "Anyway, when I saw Tifa-"

"Wait a minute- I don't know what happened…" Zidane interjected, "Would you mi-"

"_I'll forcibly insert that information telepathically into your mind later, now let's get on with!"_ Mew waived off.

"Wait-WHAT?!" the ex-thief held his hands up pleadingly, "Can we maybe not do that? I don't like the sound of tha-"

"_Then it's settled! Now onto your love story…"_

Zidane frowned and flipped the psychic off. Cloud resumed his tale, "When I met her again it was when the Jenova cells and Hojo infused me with gave me an altered personality based off the cockiness I once attributed to SOLDIER 1st Class and the stories Zack told me about his experiences before he died. Tifa knew something was up when she found me, but kept quiet about it until the last possible second- at which point everything had already gone to hell…"

"Ouch." Zidane winced, but paused, "Wait a minute- what happened? And what-"

"_Insertion…"_ Mew injected in a sing-song voice (it was still a telepathic one, as usual), shutting the thief up.

Cloud clenched his fists as he remembered what had happened because of that, _'I don't blame Tifa personally for that, but it still infuriates me just a little bit when I consider that fact…. Might be why Tifa seemed upset at times before _that_ happened- she still blames herself… good thing she moved on to someone with good experience on that front…'_

"_Agreed. It_ is_ a good thing she left a source of guilt behind to start fresh- Cloud, your love life is one of the most complicated I've ever heard."_ Mew deadpanned, having read its client's thought yet again,_ "I honestly can't blame Teef from moving away from that mess to a more comfortable best friendship." _

The pink pest shoved its muzzle right into his visage, _"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! How could you pass up THE BOOBS! LOOK AT THEM! THEY ARE WONDERS OF NATURE! THEY ARE ALMOST AS BIG AS I AM AND THEY DON'T HAVE TO BE SAGGY TO DO SO!"_

Cloud tried to push the frenzied Pokémon away, "Technically, I was the one that en-"

"_THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT BETTER! WHY WOULD YOU WANT ANYONE ELSE- GO FOR THE TITS!"_

"You realize that that my best friend has plenty of other redeeming-"

"_**DO YOU KNOW THE THINGS I WOULD TO FOR THE-!"**_

_BASH!_

Mew let out a small growl as it fell unconscious for the last time (hopefully), Zidane having hit a pressure point.

Cloud repositioned himself on his seat and sent a text to someone with his phone regarding what had just transpired, "Thanks for that- Mew's annoying when he… she…" Cloud sent the text and offered his hand to Zidane, "-whatever Mew is, get's like that."

Zidane shook the offered hand, "No problem; I was happy to help." Zidane jumped back into his chair, "Now let's just focus on the here and now- what do you think about your options?"

Cloud waived it off, "I already went through them earlier…" He pointed up, "Earlier this chapter."

Zidane looked up beyond the 4th Wall as well and read what he was referring to, "Ah… okay then, then we really only have one- tell me your opinion on Terra."

Cloud closed his eyes, "Well, to be honest… She's one of the kindest, sweetest, gentlest people I've ever met. She always puts other people before herself and is willing to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's not easy to get her angry. Annoyed, sure, but you _know_ you're screwed when she gets mad." He let out a snort at that, "When you've made her mad, that means you've done something really bad to her or someone she cares about- like the kids. You should be thankful her Esper half doesn't overwhelm her mind based off emotion but just sheer power, because there would be _casualties_ involved in those rare instances."

Zidane flinched, remembering the first time he saw that happen, "No kidding. It always gets ugly when that occurs. Got to like a woman that can kick your ass, though."

Cloud shrugged, "I guess so…" Cloud slumped over in his seat, getting himself more relaxed, "What makes me have a sort of admiration of for her, though, is her strong will…" Cloud let out a somewhat bitter chuckle, "Gaia knows I had needed one four years ago."

Zidane rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah; Jenova and all that crap- we know all about that dead parasite. So get on to what you were _going_ to say."

"Sorry about that." Cloud murmured quietly, before continuing with his previous train of thought, "Despite everything that happened to her in the past, like losing her memory, having her emotions dulled, dealing with her powers, more recently reliving regained memories involving her treatment by Kefka, she still keeps moving on." He paused as he reflected on one of his memories of her, opening his eyes, "She was even like that when I first met her in cycles- to an extent. Not as strong as the one we see now, but still."

Zidane kept quiet and motioned for the not-SOLDIER to keep go on, to which he continued, "Even after… _that_, she was still the one that resolved to carry on for their sake after some comfort and emotional support from me and Luneth… and that other guy."

Zidane grinned as he saw Cloud's eyes tell him he was almost ready, and asked, "So… when did these feelings start?"

"Not instantly… I guess it was slowly over the months I've spent around her; either traveling, fighting, or just doing our usual routines. We live in the same building now along with Tifa, Luneth, and his brother among others…"

"….So what's keeping you from committing yourself to an actual relationship? You've dated once or twice before, she does have an interest, and you've shown one just now. So what gives?"

Cloud's glowing blue Mako eyes glazed over in thought, "Well… to be honest… I don't want her to get hurt like Tifa did. The latter was almost paralyzed after _that_ incident, and I don't want something like that to happen to Terra as well."

"So that's why you've been silent in that regard."

The two blondes turned around and saw a short, 17-year old boy with brown hair and eyes and decently tanned skin wearing blue pants and an orange hoodie leaning on the door way, smiling. At Zidane's questioning look, he asked Cloud, "You said something about my little 'brother' being here?"

Cloud nodded, and the boy gently grabbed Mew's unconscious form from the middle of the room, "I'll be taking that… he gets unstable when he hasn't taken his medication."

'_That would explain his/her more-perverted-than-usual behavior….'_ both Warriors of Cosmos thought to themselves.

As the teen started to walk out of the room with him/her, he told the not-SOLDIER (not facing him), "On that subject, Terra has been waiting for another invitation to a date after the fun she had on that one for her birthday. So let me make it clear, as her self-proclaimed little brother: if you break her heart, you get a Keyblade up the ass… so I'd get to doing whatever it is you want to do if I were you."

After that… lecture of sorts from Mike, he left the room and the fic with Mew.

"…"

"…"

"…Well, that kind of settles it, then." Cloud got out of his chair, "I'll be leaving now."

"Good luck!" Zidane called out as he left, "And bang her for me!"

Cloud flipped the thief off for that remark from behind his back as he left the building...


	2. Confessions and Deliveries

**Neo Dissidia Special**

**A Valentine's Fantasy**

**Part 2: Romanic Confessions and Shocking Deliveries**

…

**Author's Note: Taking reviewer Drake Clawfang's advice (the author of **_**Shards of Memory**_** in this section and many others), I've decided to spilt this fic into two chapters to make it more approachable. Also, I'm considering making a one-shot about Firion and Lightning showing more of what happened on their end and what led up to the events shown in this fic.**

**Now enjoy the new Part 2!**

* * *

Outside, he found Mike holding Mew (so much for them being gone from the fic) waiting for him, "You ready to talk to Terra?"

Cloud nodded, Mike giving a grin in response, "Good!" He turned to the M&Z Love Consultants building, "This won't be needed anymore…"

The not-SOLDIER raised an eyebrow as he pulled out a remote with two buttons on it (one blue, one red), "…What are you going to do with that?"

Mike's grin widened, "First…." He pushed the red button.

The HC Consultants building blew up in a loud, fiery blaze; killing or maiming everyone in there (thankfully just Hojo and Corneo) yet leaving adjacent buildings unscathed. The debris was flying everywhere!

Cloud gaped at the senseless destruction, "Wha-"

"Don't _worry_ about it! No one was harmed… except them, of course. Second…" He pulled Cloud _far _away with him and then pushed the blue button.

_5…._

The earth started to quake, setting off several car alarms and an overall ruckus as some people started to panic.

_4…._

"Mind telling me what's going on…" Cloud absentmindedly asked as he saw the smoke emerging from the bottom of the building.

He received no answer as the two took him farther away as the bystanders did the same.

_3…._

* * *

Inside M&Z Love consultants….

"Got yah!" Zidane called out as he his card defeated the last of his opponent's.

"_Nooo!"_ Cait Sith cried, his head in paws, "Reeve is never going to forgive me for that!"

Zidane grinned, "Hey, that's what you get when you try to challenge the champ's domain." He held his hand out, "Now pay up!"

_2…_

"You said you never played Tetra Master before, you rotten fake!" the robotic feline shouted in indignation.

"That's really your problem, not mine. Now pay up!"

"Best 2 out of 3?" Cait Sith asked, panic laced in his tone. _'I never should have bet one million gil on this! Why did I let my gambling addiction control my actions?'_ "I'll raise it to two million if you win again!"

Zidane rubbed his chin, considering the offer. While he was doing this, the park mascot secretly prepared some fake cards for his use by putting a few blank cards into a slot located on the bottom right of his Moogle support unit's head. _'Time to cheat! I'll rob you blind, you greedy little chimp!'_

"Hrm…." The ex-thief grinned and started reshuffling the deck for them to choose from, "You're on!"

_1…_

* * *

_Blast off…_

The quakes reached their peak as the M&Z building rocketed into the air and soon left the sight of Cloud, Mike, and Mew.

"…"

Cloud's jaw dropped to the floor as it went out of sight, Michael (and an abruptly awakened Mew), regarded the sight with little emotion.

Cloud pointed at the spot the building once occupied, repeatedly turning his head between the M&M duo and the ruined lot. When he cooled himself down a bit, _**"What the hell was that?"**_

Mew got out of Michael's arms and floated away from the scene with them, _"Let's get going, shall we? Don't want to be late in asking her out, after all!"_

Mike nodded, "Agreed!" He turned back towards Cloud, "Shall we be off?"

Cloud recomposed himself back into his usual stoic disposition and grabbed the two by the shoulders and turned them around to face his glare, "Not until you tell me if Zidane will be okay."

"You're not worried about Cait Sith?" Michael raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"No. He has several bodies anyway, he'll be fine. Zidane, however, doesn't have that luxury."

"_I wouldn't worry about him- he's survived crashes like that before."_ Mew answered, using his/her psychic powers to force-shove the blonde off them, _"He wasn't supposed to have stayed there, but I forgot to tell him not to, so…"_

Mike nodded in agreement. He raised his fist into the air triumphantly as he continued, "The M&Z building had two main purposes. The first is the one you would normally think of, but the second involves… a delivery…"

Zidane and Cait Sith were being painfully pressed against the floor by the sheer G-force of the launch and couldn't really do anything or scream since that could severely impair their breathing... I think... this isn't my area of expertise.

Cloud gave them a blank stare, "A delivery."

"Yep."

"Do I want to know what kind?"

"_One ordered by one of our more… unfortunate-"_

"It was Firion, wasn't it?"

The two went silent at the claim. Mike opened a portal for the three of them to step through that would take them to where Terra is…

* * *

Meanwhile, in a vast wilderness, at an end of a forest, coming towards a hill at the edge…

"So why did you drag me all the way down here?" Lightning asked the Weapons Master as they left the nearby forest; annoyed at the silence the rebel had shown her so far, "If you're going to say something, would you please just say it?"

Firion stopped next the large tree near the end of the hill and motioned for the strawberry-blonde haired woman towards him, "I will, but there is something I want to show you first…"

Lightning gave him a sharp, analyzing look before nodding and the two sat down. She was sure she knew what Firion was going to say, and what he was going to show her seeing as the sun was about twenty to thirty minutes away, but chose to keep quiet about it- let him have his fun…

As to whether she would agree to his proposal (not the kind you're thinking)… that she wasn't entirely sure about. She knew going alone would be a bad idea seeing as she'd get herself wasted at the bar in Order's Sanctuary again if she didn't have anything to keep her from letting the irritation caused by the likes of Bartz, Zidane, Vaan, Laguna, Prishe, Shantotto, and _especially_ Michael and Mew (those two having become the _driving force_ of her occasional drinking problem…), so the idea of having a 'date' of sorts appealed to her for once. Depends if he can get the mood to strike her.

Meanwhile, the M&Z building was only 15 minutes away from landing…

"…_.We could say 'no', but we'd be lying."_

* * *

"What is WRONG with you two? You're really going to kill him like that?!"

"No, no, no!" Michael refuted, raising his hands in defense, "That won't _kill_ him. It'll get a scare out of him, but not kill him."

"Then why-"

"She should be past the end of the mines, alright? You should make it with time to spare"

"…Did you two set this up, or-"

"_Nah, we're not that good." _

"Cosmos gave the idea- we executed it… in our own way."

"_Terra told us she would be visiting here- I just used my telepathic abilities to locate her exact location once we arrived. Now GO!"_

* * *

10 minutes later…

The lovely Terra Branford was currently taking a short visit to Narshe… well, _New _Narshe, anyway. Despite the _rough_ reception she received after she was freed from Kefka's control a few years back, this snowy mining town was still one of her favorite places in her world and she was glad to see that it had been restored by its survivors and other refuges from Kefka's year of ruin.

She was wearing her "Narshean Princess" outfit to commemorate this excursion since it was made by one family who was grateful for her help in defending the mining town from the Empire. As the Half-Esper sat near the spot the frozen Esper Valigarmanda, the one that liberated her and later awakened her true magic: her Esper powers, she pondered many things as she waited for the sunset. The view was amazing: mountains of snow and pine trees and a beautiful twilight made between the north summits made for a relaxing setting.

'_It certainly has been a… interesting 6 or so months since the Gathering of Worlds. I've reunited with old friends I never thought I knew, met completely new and sometimes strange ones (Michael and Mew being _very_ good examples), gained another family of sorts, fought and technically still fighting Kefka and the other Warriors of Chaos, officially 'revived' Mobliz thanks to some unwitting help, and…'_ Terra allowed herself a small grin, _'Actually, I'm sure _what_ it is, but it feels good. Maybe an emotion I still haven't recovered yet?'_

"All and all, life has had its tremendous ups and downs, but I only regret one thing… but that's something I just have to live with." Terra muttered to herself, her lovely smirk fading into a frown before returning to the contemplative neutral. She shook her head, _'If there is anything Locke and Shadow taught me about regret…'_

Suddenly, Terra heard the crunching of snow and turned around to see Cloud behind her; looking at her with eyes filled with a resolution she wasn't familiar with. The Esper girl could have sworn she'd seen that resolution directed at others before, however…

* * *

Zidane and Cait Sith's flight plan had calmed down for the time being, so the two were able to properly think about what had happened. Zidane put both of their thoughts into words quite elegantly:

"I'm going to skin the fucking bastard alive!"

And by elegantly, we of course mean put them in a crude manner.

Cait Sith and his bizarro Moogle support raised their fists into the air in outrage, "That creature has gone too far in using us as unnecessary sacrifices! But we'll need a plan."

Zidane crossed his arms confidently, "A plan? It's just one pink rat. A psychic pink one, but- ah…" Zidane scratched the back of his head in embarrassment, "I forget how tough Mew can be… 'Especially when he/she is defending his/herself."

Cait Sith nodded, "I might not know him quite as well, this being the first time we've met, but Reeve is aware of its powers. We need a good plan of attack-"

"Sneak up behind him/her and take the rat by surprise?"

"…Yes."

"Thought so."

"You know that your friend Freya would take offense to you usage of the word 'rat', right?"

"Yeah, I-"

FWOOSH!

The building had begun its descent downwards towards its designated target- cutting them off and would bring them to a painful crash landing…

* * *

"Cloud!" Terra called out, "What are you doing here?"

The not-SOLDIER took a seat besides her, not taking his eyes off her once, making her blush slightly, _'Why is he looking at me like that…'_

Cloud didn't see it since he had closed his eyes and took a deep breath while it faded, and told her, "There's… something I want to talk to you about."

Upon taking in her inquisitive look, he continued, "Do you… remember that date we went on?"

Terra smiled brightly, "Of course I do…" She turned away, a little embarrassed by the now returning shade of red on her cheeks as she remembered certain parts of it, "I-it was really fun…"

Cloud looked off to the side, taking in his snowy surroundings, _'She has good taste in location. The natural beauty here is admittedly relaxing… should makes this easier to say._'

"Cloud?" The Esper girl questioned, tilting her head in curiosity.

The not-SOLDIER turned back towards her, more determined in his words, "Terra Branford… I…" The blonde sighed as he regarded the dirty-blonde, "I think you're one of the kindest, sweetest people I've ever met."

The Half-Esper woman raised an eyebrow, "Thank you for saying that, but why-"

"Let me finish." The not-SOLDIER interrupted, getting more of her attention, "I'm not sure when it happened… not at first, anyway, but you've really grown on me in a special way."

Terra did a doubletake at the tone he was using, _'Is he going to…?'_

Cloud's glowing blue eyes locked on to the young woman's lavender-blue purple ones.

"Terra… I think… you may very well have made me…" Cloud scratched the back of his head, finding the words he was about to say a bit cheesy but true, "at some point… fall in love with you."

Terra seemed shocked by his words and turned away, refusing to look at him; worrying the deliveryman (still Cloud- I just haven't used that one yet).

"Terra-"

"Wait…" Terra held her hand in Cloud face as she composed herself, "Can I… tell you something, too?"

"…Go ahead."

The Half-Esper took in a deep breath before starting, "Cloud Strife…" She barely restrained herself from letting out a little giggle upon realizing the other blonde had started his confession in a similar note, "I think… you're a very special person."

Cloud frowned, confused, "Wait, what-"

Terra started laughing this time, holding onto her sides.

The not-SOLDIER looked at her disbelievingly, "Is there something fun about me putting my feelings on the line, here?"

"I-I'm not done!" she interrupted, trying to stifle her laughter, "I-I just… I just thought it was funny that that I started that the exact same way you did… I'm sorry!" After she calmed down again, she continued with a warm smile on her face, "You're always there for people and do care about others… you always look out for all of us without care for yourself… "She paused for a second, then mused, "Not always a good thing, but I can't say I'm much better…"

Cloud kept silent, letting her continue, "You can even be funny sometimes... it's a dry sense of humor, but when it works, it really does work."

The deliveryman shrugged, "Honestly, you're funny more often than I am and you don't even have to try."

"Really?" Terra asked, a bit surprised (and embarrassed as she remembered a certain few of those instances) at his claim, made her blush, "Th-thank you… but what I'm trying to say is…" The young woman of magical heritage looked at Cloud with the loveliest smile, "You said I made you fall in love with me… I'm not sure _when_ either, but… I think you made me love you too…"

The two smiled (rare for Cloud). The Half-Esper decided at this moment to take off the crown band and let her hair down...

* * *

Lightning tapped her foot impatiently, rather annoyed at being made to wait this long. She stared the rebel down with her arms crossed, "Alright, what gives?"

Firion looked around the clearing expectantly, "I don't know… it should be here by now-"

"What should be here?!" The pink-haired woman roared, prompting the Weapon master to turn around in shock, "What is so damn important that you had to drag me all the way out to the middle of nowhere!"

The former Knight of the Gods sighed heavily, calming herself down. When she did, she asked in a much softer voice, "At least tell me what you wanted to say… at least give ne that if you don't want me to chew you out. I find your company more preferable than… certain others."

"The Warrior, Vaan alone, Zidane, Bartz, Mike, Mew-"

"Stop that."

Firion held his hands up, "I'm just contributing to the conversation."

"Just-"as she was about to get back to the point, she noticed something, "What is that over there?"

Firion looked up to where she was pointing, I don't see it."

"Up there …. It's still a dot right now, but it seems odd…"

* * *

"Say…" Cloud asked out of several moments, "I was wondering… I see why you are in this part of town, and you've told me enough to determine why you like this place, but… how are you handling the cold so well, considering you only have a leotard and a cape on?"

"And a blue bolero jacket."

"My question still stands..."

The half-Esper bit her lip, her mood a little deflated, "Well… it never really has- probably one of the reasons I was sent to this town in only my usual outfit. Heat bothers me even less- probably since I'm more aligned with fire and other elements…" Terra paused, not sure if she wanted to go on.

Cloud saw this hesitating and felt a bit guilty for asking, "You don't have to-"

"It's because of what I am…" the girl answered, "There's no one like me, really…" She turned to Cloud, "Is it okay if I admit something else to you?"

He nodded, "If you need to get something off your chest… it does help."

Terra closed her eyes, bracing herself for what she was about to say, "I've always felt… alone, in a way. I love my friends to pieces, but there's that factor that I'm the only one of my kind that's always made me feel a little isolated from others… if it weren't for the kids, I would have disappeared because of that when Kefka was killed the first time… it scares me how close it was."

"But…" Cloud started, offering his hand, "I'm… we're here, aren't we? Can't we help?"

* * *

As the Rose Duo watched the dot, more features became evident.

"Is that a building?" Firion questioned, squinting his eyes in concentration.

Lightning winced, doing the same, "Yeah… why do I have a feeling Mike and Mew have something to do with this?"

"Would you even think otherwise?"

"Point…" The Duo's eyes widened as they could now tell _where_ it was going to land, "Shit!"

"_Run for cover!"_

They dashed away back into the forest as M&Z came crashing down a few yards from where they stood, creating a shock wave as it did so that knocked them over and the wind from them…

* * *

The Half-Esper woman smiled warmly, "Mm-hm. You do… you all do. You all make me feel not as lonely…. That's why I survived." She turned to Cloud, "But… I can tell you also feel isolated to a degree."

Cloud looked down in thought, "Well… maybe sometimes…" He looked into Terra's lavender-blue purple eyes, "Not a lot of people have had their psyches shattered by Jenova and managed to recover them… but the mental scars are still there."

Terra nodded, "I get that, actually…" she looked down sadly, "Kefka… the slave crown took everything from me: my memories, most of my emotions… but I did make it and recovered the latter. But those memories… most of them are all gone. And the memories I have recovered in my dreams..."

The not-SOLDIER was alarmed when he saw a few tears roll down her cheek, but she wiped them away, "Sorry about that… they're just… I've told you about the _really_ bad ones and I prefer not to think about them since recalling them is only slightly less painful emotionally for me than reliving them and feeling it again fresh."

Cloud raised an eyebrow, knowing that if it was that bad, she'd have to talk about it at some point. For now, though, he let Terra finish her previous thought.

"I guess that kind of makes us… kindred spirits, or something along those lines."

Cloud nodded, "I guess it does…"

Terra looked up, eyes glazed over in reminiscence, "I still remember… you were the one for gave me my dream."

"Yeah… but you gave me mine too, though in the process."

Terra smiled, "It's interesting how important that really was to me… it was that one dream that made me try to keep going in the cycles and even back soon afterwards when I first showed up in this town. I didn't know what it was, but it made me try even when I was… out of it, for lack of a better word. Together with my love for the children, it was what gave me the courage to face Kefka for what was meant to be the last time, even if I couldn't remember you, Luneth, Cecil, or Vaan."

"We still share that dream, right?"

"Of course we do… did we ever stop?"

"…it took me a while to remember it too, and when finally was clear later when I fought Sephiroth the second time, it became something for similar to your interpretation."

"To protect what we hold dear?"

"Exactly."

* * *

It didn't take long for them to wake up and see the remains the Love Doctors' office a yard away from them. The two grimaced when they saw a battered Zidane lying on what used to be the ceiling and a Cait Sith robot impaled on a support beam.

Firion looked on this scene a few seconds longer before his eyes widened as he remembered something, "Could it be…?"

His sudden departure drew Lightning's attention back to the rebel as he inspected what looked like a secret compartment installed in a piece of wall.

She put her hands to her hips, "What are you doing there?"

Firion had succeeded in retrieving the delivered item and concealed it from sight. He came back to Lightning's side and led her back to the undamaged hill.

"Light…" He said after they reached the tip, looking at her in determination.

The 'Cosmos l'Cie' folded her arms, "Speak your mind."

He then revealed the contents of the safe: two roses, one of which he offered to Lightning, "Would you be my Valentine? For the next couple days, anyway?"

The strawberry-blonde closed her eyes as she contemplated her choice.

"…Well?" The rebel asked after a couple more minutes, head tilted as nervousness and curiosity overtook him.

"…Be there at 5:00 PM sharp; get yourself a suit, and make sure you're ready for a good time."

Firion smiled, knowing that he succeeded in this small goal. And so the two watched the sunset in peace…

…Except for the pained moaning of Zidane and the occasional sparks from the broken Cait Sith…

* * *

Both thoroughly relaxed, Cloud now had Terra in his embrace as the sunset finally came; it's golden, red, orange, yellow, pink, and purple tones of wonder even beautiful than usual as it came between the mountains.

"Kind of reminds me of your fire…" the not-SOLDIER mused and got a slow but happy nod from the Half-Esper in his arms. He took a good look at his new love in this twilight, her lovely pale blonde hair that curled in that adorable manner and looked gold in this light, the sadness and happiness both reflected in her bright lavender-blue purple eyes. Terra looked like porcelain doll with ivory skin but so healthy it almost looked a wee bit tan, and an attractive slender figure. All and all, she was adorable and a vision of beauty in Cloud's eyes. He stroked her hair, feeling its silky softness; it seemed like she was positively _purring_ in response (literally).

He was used to seeing her wearing red, and while a part of him preferred her in that color, she looked amazing in all of her outfits. But when she had the bright green hair of her father's side, red was really the only way to go.

Terra also closely examined every feature at her first ever boyfriend. She could still see some pain in those beautiful glowing blue orbs, but it seemed to have lessened. His yellow blonde hair and mild tan worked well for his muscular figure and showed his natural handsomeness for all to see. That hair was really spiky and sharp looking, but it was actually as soft as the feathers of the bird it resembled.

The two were very happy together, and this marked the beginning of a new and amazing phase of their relationship with each other. After this, a date would be planned for some time after tomorrow's Valentine's Day party. Speaking of which…

"Cloud?" Terra softly asked, looking deeply into the other blonde's eyes.

The deliveryman met her gaze with one of his own, "Yeah?"

"Would you… like to be my Valentine… and maybe…?"

Cloud nodded affirmative to both. They seemed to have become quite relaxed by the beauty of the nature surrounding them, which made this very tender moment all the more easier to happen and all the feelings expressed at once come through.

For now, they would make the most of their time here. Soon, though, Cloud will have planned a date for the Golden Saucer…

"_This cute… so cute I want to vomit."_ Mew muttered to his/herself, disgusted at the sheer cuteness displayed in this heartwarming scene. Cosmos had let Mike set out for their original world to meet with Sarah while the pink pain was held back to help her with tomorrow's escapades.

Mew put a paw to his/her chin in thought, _"But why do I feel as if I'm forgetting something…?"_

"**Hello, Mew…"**

It turned around to find a heavily bruised, cut, and overall battered Zidane and an irate Cait Sith (in a new body) giving the pink otherworldly cat/bunny/fetus/sperm thing the most murderous glare he/she had seen yet.

"_A-a-ah… hi! Good to see you didn't die…"_ Mew stuttered nervously, slowly floating away.

Zidane grinned while advancing on him/her, "Yeah, isn't it? Especially since you _left me in that rocket-building thing to __**die**__!"_

"You _did_ kill me!" Cait Sith added as he followed Zidane's lead. At awkward stare that got from Mew he added, "One of me, anyway! You're going to answer for that!"

"_This is going to painful…"_

* * *

**#: The event referenced is a possibility of Kefka's future plan in **_**Neo Dissidia: A New World, A New War.**_** This is not set in stone, but regardless of what happened Cloud and Tifa will have ended it for one reason or another anyway in the fic.**

**For Cloti fans, know that she does have him by default in the FFVII Compilation anyway; Clerith fans: same deal. You can pair Cloud up with anyone and it would work (might not always be believable, but you could): Including but not limited to Yuffie, Jessie, Barret, Yuna, Lightning, Red XIII, Reno, Rude, Faris, Lenna, Maria, Vincent, Cid Highwind, Krile, Selphie, Quistis, Sora, Firion, Rikku, Riku, Cecil, Ashe, Don Corneo… the list goes on and on.**

**I, however, believe in Clerra when possible for reasons like those hinted at in this one-shot. That, and Cloud's the only one that has met my very high standards for her.**

**P.S.: I love writing my Mew: he/she is such a perverted asshole he/she's charming! Mew can be nice and sensitive too, though- it just depends on his/her mood and whether the necessary medication has been taken XD. And I do not hate Zidane or Cait Sith (actually, Zidane's one of my favorites)... they were just opportune fodder this time.**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated**


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